Broken Soul - Birth of The Soul Demon
by The Nexus -Sign
Summary: James Thomas Walter, the Boston Murderer, killer of 921 people across Boston (some from other cities in Massachusetts), finds himself killed one day by a dumb cop and in Hell afterwards. Oh well, might as well have some more fun while he still can! (Rated M because Hazbin Hotel, along with lots of death.)
1. Chapter 1

Funny how fate works out.

One day, you're a murderer of hundreds…

The next, you find yourself in Hell and somehow become one of the most powerful yet most loving Demons in Hell.

...I'm getting ahead of myself.

Why don't I tell you my life's story?

I'll start with my Hell life, that's the most important part.

Buckle up, the journey begins now.

BROKEN SOUL - Birth of the Soul Demon

DATE, TIME, LOCATION: May 20th, 1924; 11:34 PM; Boston, Massachusetts

This was invigorating.

The thought of cleansing the world of the filth that was humanity. It made James Thomas Walter feel overjoyed.

He had an ever growing count of his kills, he was already far past one-hundred.

Did he feel any guilt?

...Nope!

He was doing the world a favor, and humanity one too. Of course, he realized he was human too.

He'd just come back to that subject later when he was done with the rest of humanity; then he'd kill himself.

Currently he was on 920 kills, and still managed to avoid the world trying to catch him. He was about to land his 921st hit, and he couldn't help but let a small dark grin to slowly appear on his face.

He casually drew his knife from his coat, glancing at the silver blade that took so many lives. It had a golden handle, decorated with beautiful gems, and it was deadly sharp. It could easily break through steel, he tested it multiple times over, making his job of killing so much easier.

Today's target was a young woman who lived alone in a forest cabin, and what made it so much better was she lived a good while away from civilization so no one could interfere with his kill. He watched from the forest, his brown eyes focused like a predator that was hunting for his prey. He pulled out a few leaves from his black hair, huffing slightly, and then looked back at the cabin.

James slowly began to get closer to the cabin, his blade glinting in the dim light of the moon. Once close enough, he stabbed his knife into the door and forcefully broke it open with the sharp blade. Once the terrified and shocked scream came from the cabin, James only grinned wider, using the scream as a waypoint to find his newest victim.

He quickly cornered the young woman in the back of the cabin, brandishing his knife menacingly. She begged and cried for mercy, causing James to frown and kneel in front of the cowering woman, false sympathy in his eyes.

"Oh, dear… I would spare you if I could… But that would go against everything I believe in, sweetie." James then grinned. "Now, be a good girl and die for me, m'kay?" James was about to end her life quickly, but then he heard voices near the cabin, many loud and stern. He narrowed his eyes. Somehow, without his knowing, this woman must have alerted the authorities.

"You _**bitch**_." James stabbed her in the chest and cut off her head quickly, before rushing out the back door, running as fast as he could. He couldn't be caught now. Not yet! He had so much to do, the world needed him to be pure again! It was only a minute and a half before he ran into 10 or so policemen, armed and ready to take him down, guns pointed at him.

"James Thomas Walter! You have 10 seconds to surrender! Drop your weapon, you're surrounded!" One cop demanded, causing James' eye to twitch angrily, clenching his knife tightly. The police officer who called on him narrowed his eyes. "Put the weapon down and we won't shoot!"

James stayed silent, slowly walking towards the one who called him out as he raised his arms in surrender. Maybe if he could just get a little closer he could kill them too…

Clearly, he underestimated one thing. There was a new police officer that got nervous when he neared, shooting him in the chest and knocking him down. James' vision got blurry as he could barely make out the policemen rushing over to him, as the world darkened around him slowly.

_'So this is death, huh? Hurts like a bitch. Maybe God will see what I did and send me Up? That sounds nice…'_

As he closed his eyes for the final time, James Thomas Walter took his last breath.

**_LINE BREAK_**

The Afterlife wasn't anything James was entirely ready for. Though, is anyone truly ready for death?

James looked around the gray void around him, shivering slightly from the cold that swept through, before a bright blinding light formed in front of him. He couldn't grasp the true nature of this light, as if it was too ancient and Eldritch for his mortal mind to understand. Then, the light spoke to him.

**_"It seems your time has come, Child of Man. As every human being before you, you must be judged. Your sins and your good deeds will be weighed, and from there I will send you to your new eternal home."_**

James couldn't speak, as if something was keeping him from doing so, and he couldn't move either. Running wasn't an option then… The light stayed silent, as if it was peering into his soul, before sighing.

_**"Such a shame. So much potential in your life, wasted. Your misdeeds are numerous, and some, if not most of them are of the greatest sins. You pursued a path of darkness, and what did it offer you. Nothing."**_

James finally found his voice, hesitantly speaking up. "W-what do you mean? All I was doing was cleansing the-"

_**"Child, don't give me that lie. You and I both know the reason of your so called 'cleansing'."**_ James was forced into silence with that quick response. He took a deep breath and looked at the light again.

"What does that mean for me? And who are you?"

**_"You know who I am child, you carry a blade that used to be holy after all."_** The light seemed to be somewhat amused by his question. **_"And sadly, due to your sins, you will be sent down to Hell."_**

"I… fine, do whatever you want." James crossed his arms, unhappy with his current situation, but God (if this was him) was right. He killed people and masked it under an excuse of 'cleansing'. The Boston Murderer closed his eyes, as he felt a searing heat surround him and an aura of malice overwhelmed his senses.

_**"Goodbye child."**_

**_LINE BREAK_**

James hit the floor quickly after falling from the sky, a bit of pain radiating from every inch of his body. Falling at terminal velocity would do that to you. Strangely though, the pain faded as quickly as it came, bones he was sure were broken from the fall were now fixed. He got up and looked around, taking in the red skies and strange buildings. He sighed, knowing he was definitely in Hell now, and there wasn't anything he could do about that now.

He looked at himself, noticing he was now strangely in a silver-gray wolf-like form, and chalked it up to this being either God's doing or just a side effect of Hell. "I wish I was back in my normal form though…" As soon as James muttered that, he felt a burning sensation go through his body as his vision blacked out briefly. When his vision returned, he was shocked to see was back in his human form but his skin was much paler than before. Thankfully he still had his clothes from Earth with him.

He walked out of the alley he fell in, scratching the back of his neck nervously, dark red-purple eyes looking around. Other people, demons he supposed, looked at him strangely. One demon especially, was getting dangerously close to him, some kind of bird-based demon? He didn't pay them too much mind, they weren't a threat. The next step James took, he found himself at… spear-point? He raised an eyebrow, still not threatened by this bird-like demon. "May I help you?"

The bird didn't seem too happy with James' sarcasm and indifference, edging the blade closer to James' neck. "You can help me by fucking off and dying!" James blinked, tilting his head, this was new.

"Oh, so you think I'll just lie down and die for you?" James quickly, effortlessly dodged the spear when it was jabbed at him, before kicking it away from the bird demon, pulling out his knife and stabbing the demon in the chest. He pulled the knife out, looking up to the rest of the demon-packed streets, where people looked at him in fear and shock.

James smirked, his bloodlust returning at full force as his eyes gave off a dark glow. "Oh fuck the hell yes."

_It was that night that the Soul Demon was born._


	2. Chapter 2

BROKEN SOUL - A Rekindled Flame

He never thought that killing people would have brought him to this point, he killed about 280-something Demons during his time in Hell, he would have killed more but he didn't find a purpose in doing so. Sure, it was Hell, there were no rules. He could kill everyone he wanted, and no one could stop him. He just didn't find the same joy in it anymore.

During all this time, he made some allies and some enemies. He even witnessed the rise of the Radio Demon, and became friends with them… kinda. As long as they didn't have conflicting ideas, they got along somewhat well.

James was currently sitting down on a couch boredly in the apartment he rented, messing around with the knife that he kept with him from the mortal world. He turned on the TV in his room, flicking through it for a bit and quickly ended up on 666 News. Tom Trench and Katie Killjoy again were being obnoxious in his opinion, but there wasn't much he could do about it, after all 666 News was the most popular and watched news station. If there was anything big happening, 666 News usually covered it.

His interest was piqued when the Princess of Hell was said to be up next. That sounded interesting. He hadn't heard too much about the Princess, he usually distanced himself from politics and all that shit. He even kept out of the Overlord Turf-war stuff, he really didn't need to involve himself with that. He was already given a name as the Soul or Shifter Demon anyways.

He got up while the news station went on break, making himself a mesmerizing meal with his powers. He was sure glad he had all these powers at his disposal, food in Hell typically ended up tasting like actual shit in his opinion… though he didn't actually know what shit tasted like, he had a feeling Hell's food actually tasted like that. Thankfully he could manipulate the rules and laws of reality (to an extent), and such made his food taste way better. Still not as good as it was on Earth, but good enough to taste like it was made in a 3 or 4-Star Earth restraunt.

Taking his pancakes and chocolate bread with him, he walked back over to the couch just in time to catch the news resume. When he saw the Princess, his purple-red eyes stared for a bit, before he switched back to paying attention to Princess Charlotte's words. He was somewhat shocked (and slightly disturbed) when she burst into song, wincing sympathetically. It was clear from how Katie spoke to Charlotte that the Princess had no respect from the denizens of Hell, and this would just damage her rep even more. He found the idea absolutely ridiculous, how could someone be changed? This was Hell, eternal damnation! Why would anyone-

…

'Oh fuck.' James facepalmed as he felt his 'guardian' Shadow Rukh, or SR for short, form next to him. SR was a small black wolf pup with red eyes like rubies, and they were also a hellhound-like 'pet' linked to his soul. 90% of the time, if SR had an opinion, it meant he agreed with it internally. He looked at the wolf, who was now in a larger young adult form, which it used most of the time to keep James safe from others (or was it the other way around?)

"What now, Shadow?" James leaned into his seat, finishing his food quickly. He really hoped SR wasn't considering the idea of going to the Hotel, for his own sake.

'Go. To. The. Hotel.' SR's tone was one to leave no argument, her eyes narrowed. James groaned, getting up.

"Fine, fine, jeez." He snapped his fingers, all of his stuff being packed into suitcases, before putting said stuff in his pocket dimension. He motioned for SR to follow him, as the wolf jumped off the couch and followed her charge out of the apartment.

**_LINE BREAK_**

It was official, he was definitely insane. James was about to risk his reputation as the terrifying Soul Demon for a rare chance of "redemption". James glared at SR, blaming them for this, but the wolf only glared back with more ferocity. James looked away, Shadow always managed to scare him somehow.

He stood in front of the 'Happy Hotel', this entire situation was crazy, but it was basically too late for him to back down. He looked up at the red sky, hopes of going to Heaven in his mind. His mom… she should be up there, right? And his father, older brother, and little sister too. That thought was enough for him to steel his nerves and knock on the door briefly. A small 'Coming!' came from inside the Hotel and the door was opened by the Princess herself. She stared for a bit, seemingly about to speak up, but James spoke first.

"Pardon me, Princess Charlotte, but I saw what happened on the News. Is this Hotel for real?" The Princess nodded somewhat hesitantly, before narrowing her eyes at him.

"Yeah, but why do you ask? Are you here to mock and ridicule me like the rest?" James shook his head, bowing slightly to the Princess.

"Far from it, Princess Charlotte." James then stood up straight after a few seconds. "I'm here to see if its even possible."

"O-oh! Well then, come right in!" Charlotte seemed to cheer up almost instantly, opening the doors to the Hotel wide for James, as he bowed his head in respect and entered the Hotel. He took note of his surroundings, before a familiar feeling made him grin slightly.

"Princess-"

Charlotte quickly cut him off, raising a hand to silence the Soul Demon. "Charlie is fine enough in here, thanks."

James hesitantly nodded, but the grin didn't leave. "Alright, well you can call me James in that case." The Soul Demon decided to ask the question that was on his mind. "Tell me, Charlie, does The Deer happen to be here?"

Charlie blinked at the strange question, as she motioned for James to follow her to get him a room. "The Deer? Oh, do you mean Al? Yeah, he's somewhere around here. Why do you ask?" James' grin slowly shifted into something akin to a smirk.

"Oh, no reason. Just wondered if my old friend truly was here." Charlie seemed to like that response, smiling slightly.

"Friends! That's great! That means you two won't get into fights, right?" James nodded at the question, his eyes looking ahead of him and staring into the shadows before looking back at Charlie.

"We normally wouldn't, unless we have something to fight over. It's rare, but it happens. Then again, not even the best of friendships can go without a few fights here and there right?"

"He's right!" A familiar radio-like voice called out right next to James, as the Soul Demon and Charlie turned to see Alastor standing behind them. James wasn't surprised whatsoever, Alastor did tend to mess around with him by teleporting around. Alastor's smiled grimly at the sight of SR, his dislike of dogs evident. He could tolerate and sometimes even enjoy James' presence, but SR was way too dog-like for him to handle, even if she was sentient. Alastor then looked back at James, outstretching his hand for a handshake. "James my old friend, nice to see you again, how have you been?"

James took Alastor's hand and quickly shook it, his grip was firm, before letting go again. "Ah, well I've been as good as I can be while in Hell I suppose." Both Alastor and James shared a little laugh, enjoying their short talks.

"Well James, that's the best anyone can ask for down here. What brings you to this establishment?" Alastor was definitely curious on what his fellow serial killer was up to being in a Hotel for rehabilitation.

"I'm here for redemption I suppose." Those words froze Alastor in place, as he stared at James, blinking a few times before speaking up.

"Care to repeat that, James?" James shrugged before scratching his head and ruffling up his dark silver hair slightly.

"You heard me. I want to see if redemption is possible, and if it is I want to grasp it." Alastor hummed, before nodding to himself.

"Well then, I hope to see you Heaven-bound and flying amongst the rest of the feathered flock, if you can even make it that is." James and SR stared at Alastor, smirking confidently.

"Alastor, is that a challenge?" Alastor seemed to grin, a glint in his eyes.

"Perhaps."

"Well then, old friend… Consider this challenge accepted. I'll end up in Heaven one way or another." Alastor and James shook hands yet again, and the Radio Demon left to do… something. James turned back to Charlie, who was somewhat confused about Alastor and James' interaction, but she shook it off and showed James his new room and gave him the key.

"Well, we have a few ground rules here-" She began, but James cut her off again, a small smile on his face.

"I'm assuming its something along the lines of no fighting, no swearing, no drugs… etc." Charlie blinked, nodding again. James swung the key to his new room around a finger, a bit bored. "Well, then expect me to be on my best behavior, or at least I'll try my best, Princess."

"Uh huh… Well, while that's great to hear, you don't have to be so formal, James. Charlie's just fine, remember?" James nodded, opening the door to his room and entering, taking note of the size and the pre-installed stuff.

"Alright, fine, Charlie." He seemed a bit uncomfortable calling her such an unformal name, but bid her farewell as he told her he had to unpack. She nodded and left, James stared at her retreating form, rolling his eyes in an amused manner with a smile on his face. Charlie had an aura of positivity around her that made him wonder if she even was meant to be in Hell, he would have doubted her status as the daughter of Lucifer if he met her earlier in his afterlife. "Oh well." James turned, closing the door and beginning to unpack as SR jumped onto his bed.

**_LINE BREAK_**

In Heaven, a tall golden-haired angel smiled, his light blue eyes filled with happiness.

"...So, my little brother's already begun his path of redemption? Father'll be pleased about this… and so will God." The angel left, flapping his wings and disappearing.


	3. Chapter 3

_**BROKEN SOUL - First Day**_

_James would have been lying if he said he didn't find his first day at the Happy Hotel interesting. What happened? Well…_

James found himself in a endless black landscape when he opened his eyes, frowning deeply. "Anyone here?" He then blinked. "Wait, where _am _I? I know I fell asleep. But this is _definitely _not normal." He felt a bit of heat build up next to his left leg, and looking at it, he saw SR form slowly. He patted his guardian spirit on the head, smiling slightly before a dull light formed in front of his very eyes in the shape of a flame. "What the f-"

"Hi. I'm David. I'm one of your victims." The so-called David began, causing James to stare in confusion. "And I'm saaaad-"

"Oh, Jesus." James facepalmed, feeling like this was some kind of prank from the Big Man Upstairs. It took 3 days inside of the weird plane, before James somehow managed to help David with his sadness. In return, David swore to help him instead of being antagonistic. James stared at the spot where the flame-like soul was, before his vision dulled slowly and he was forced out.

When they woke up in the real world, SR and James shared a look, swearing to each other to not speak of this strange incident to each other ever again. It was best to forget what happened. James walked out of his room after getting ready for another day, thinking he was ready to handle anything that Hell threw at him.

He was not, however, ready for the other resident "customer" of the Hotel; Angel Dust.

He got to the bar, thankfully the place had one (though it seemed a bit… counterproductive in his opinion). The moment he did, he found a weird spider-like demon seemingly flirting with another demon, a cat-like demon with wings. He didn't see Charlie around, so she might have been busy with work related to the Hotel. James tried to stay away from the spider demon, wondering what was taking so long for SR to get out of her room (though she was a lazy guardian sometimes), before the spider demon switched his attention to the new arrival. "Well, well, what do we have here?" The spider smiled, getting uncomfortably close to James. "You look awfully human, bucko. Whatcha doing in this place?"

"Rehabilitation." Was James' blunt response, with the Shifter Demon boredly staring into the spider's eyes, as if he was looking into their very soul. Angel Dust was a bit put off from that, but he kept going regardless, annoying James to no end.

"Rehab? That's so dumb!~" Angel Dust wrapped an arm around James' shoulders, using another arm to wiggle a finger under his chin. "Why bother, you're in Hell! You're surrounded by bad influences, and I can practically _smell_ the blood on you! It's faint, but still there bucko!"

James silently glared at Angel Dust, realizing who he was after a few seconds. He despised the porn industry and anyone related to them. "Get off of me, now." James hissed, releasing enough targeted and concentrated killing intent that it would make people like Alastor take a step back. Thankfully, images of dying repeatedly in a plethora of ways was enough to make Angel Dust back off from James. "I am so getting a restraining order on you."

"You can't escape me here, really. You'll see me a lot in some rehab sessions or some shit." Angel Dust shrugged, finally getting over being threatened by James. The Soul Demon's left eye twitched, he was going to regret listening to SR if he had to deal with Angel Dust's… eccentricities. He looked at the cat-demon, who seemed to be drinking some cheap booze. He sighed boredly, laying his head on the bar, until he saw a cup slide in front of his face. He looked at the cat, who shrugged at him, before returning to his booze. James picked up the cup, taking the shot of liquor down in one go.

'_Not as good as getting high on coffee, in my opinion, but it'll do for now.'_ James sighed to himself. Now he was in the mood for what humans would consider a coffee overdose, though to him it was nothing. He got up, nodding to the cat in thanks for the drink to start his day, and the cat simply nodded back.

It was at this time Charlie decided to stroll in, accompanied by another female demon. She was gray skinned with white/light-pink hair, and a large pink bow accompanied in it. Her visible eye was yellow with pink sclerae, and she had an interesting sense of fashion to say the least. James raised an eyebrow, curious as to who this was.

Charlie noticed James after a few seconds, getting excited, and grabbing the new demon's arm to gain her attention. James had to tune in his lupine senses to hear what was being said. "See that guy, Vaggie?! That's our newest patient!" 'Vaggie' seemed to be suspicious of him, her lone eye staring at him relentlessly, as if daring him to step out of line. James had to admit he admired how this demoness had enough guts to glare at him like that.

Regardless, James decided to go over and talk with his… landladies? Doctors? He didn't know what to call them. Instead, he decided to just wave casually like he wasn't a potentially dangerous nigh-omnicidal psychopath. "Hello again, uh... Charlie!" He doubted he'd get used to calling the Princess of Hell herself such an informal name. "Who's this?"

"Oh, well this is Vaggie! She's my manager!" Charlie's smile never left her face, and honestly, James couldn't help but smile slightly as well.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Vaggie. Hopefully we can grow to be good friends." James politely bowed, making Vaggie a little uncomfortable. She motioned for him to get up, as she nodded silently, not speaking to him but that was enough for James to know he made an impression on her. Good or bad, he didn't know yet. "So, Charlie, what's-"

James was immediately interrupted by an explosion outside the Hotel, with James looking out the window and seeing someone he didn't expect to see again. Sir Pentious, the Over-Edgelord. This would be amusing, maybe "protecting" the Hotel could get him on everyone here's good side. He casually strode out the door, with the other inhabitants looking out said door and seeing Sir Pentious well and with a new machine prepared. James immediately tuned out the snake demon's rant/speech about how "great" he was and all that jazz, before he saw a laser be shot at the Hotel.

James narrowed his eyes, and in a burst of inhuman — practically ungodly speeds, he was easily moving faster than light itself at that moment, draining his stamina slightly to do so, but he was easily strong enough to knock the laser away from the Hotel. He then howled, shifting into his demon form (not his True one though, Pentious didn't deserve that honor), and increased his size with his shapeshifting. He drew his fist back and punched Sir Pentious' machine, knocking them into the air and destroying the machine. James didn't rest until he saw the machine disappear from sight, before shifting back to his normal form and size. He turned back to the others, who looked either morbidly interested (probably because of his powers), shocked (again, same reason as before), or just plain terrified.

James smiled, if these were the expressions he could get from using his powers to help these people, he wouldn't mind doing it more. That and he felt… something inside of him after saving the Hotel from that laser. He didn't know what it was, per se, but… he didn't hate it. It was actually quite refreshing.

_**_LINE BREAK_**_

Again, in the Heavens above, the golden-haired Angel from before was watching the Hell below him again. He was happy that James was slowly, but clearly learning how to be a better person. One day in and he was already developing positive emotions! This was good, this was very good. "Keep it up brother. Soon, you'll be home with us. I'm sure mother would be proud of your progress too." The Angel then left, possibly to go talk with his father.


	4. Chapter 4

_**BROKEN SOUL - Lucifer's Invitation, Appearance of Heaven's Scribe**_

_Finding himself in the weird black landscape became a common occurence when he slept._

James started to learn all the spirits he encountered, every single one of them, were people he killed. It didn't matter if he killed them when he was alive, or in Hell. Apparently they were all the same.

They died to him, had a slight grudge against him, and he needed to find out a way to… "help" them. He honestly despised it, but he also found out if he didn't help them, he would be stuck in his mind until he did.

The names of dozens upon dozens of souls blurred past his mind as he boredly attempted to help them. Slowly though, he began to get into a routine. He'd help about 15 souls, wake up, go help out Charlie and the others in any way he could, go back to sleep, and try to help another 15.

He began to see less and less negative impulses inside of his soul as well. Normally, when he'd go out into Hell for supplies and encountered some Demons, he'd just kill them for an extra power boost. Now, he'd just ignore them unless they challenged or attacked him, and even then he started to leave a rare few half-alive.

Currently, James was hanging out at the bar with Husk and Alastor, mainly talking with his fellow Demons about Charlie's plan. James wasn't a true doubter anymore, sure he still had a part of him that was unsure, but he now was mostly onboard. If he could help out the people he killed, the people that once hated him, and make them tolerant and even pleased to be around him… Maybe Charlie's hopes of redemption weren't impossible.

"So what you're saying is that you've been sleeping all this time to help and/or redeem the damned souls inside of you?" Alastor raised an eyebrow, still doubtful of James' tale. The Soul Demon nodded slightly.

"It's been hard, and some souls still hate me, but I think I should be done in roughly 10 days." James responded, as Alastor shook his head. He still couldn't believe James, his senior in terms of how long he lived in Hell, was actually trying to go along with this crazy redemption idea. He noticed his violent tendencies lessening, and it was slightly concerning to the Radio Demon to say the least.

James looked over to Husk, who seemed to be a bit cold. He knew the heaters rarely worked in here, so James snapped his fingers, summoning a candle and lighting it with his powers. The candle gave off a good amount of heat due to the magical properties James gave it, and he was pleased to see Husk wasn't shivering as much anymore.

James hummed to himself boredly, closing his eyes as he was about to talk with the souls he befriended. He was then immediately interrupted by Charlie bursting in, jumping up and down with excitement. The Soul Demon lazily looked at her, raising an eyebrow curiously. What was so exciting?

Husk, however, was a little agitated as he was rudely awakened as soon as he was about to fall asleep. _"WhAt thE fuCk iS goiNg oN- w h a t?"_ He growled as he sat up, only half-awake. Charlie pulled out her phone and showed the three an invitation to some party being thrown by…

"_LUCIFER?!"_ James jumped out of his seat, backing away from the invitation. "Nuh-uh, count me out-" Alastor, meanwhile, was having the opposite reaction to the invitation.

"A party? During the extermination? Oh, how wonderful! I'm sure James would love to join us!" Alastor smiled darkly towards his old 'friend', as Charlie turned to him with a big grin.

"Uh… come back to me on that. Besides, can't you bring someone else? Like Vaggie, or Angel Dust? Maybe even Husk!"

"_LeAvE mE oUt of ThIs!-"_ Husk cried out, wanting nothing to do with that party. Powerful demons were sure to be there, and he didn't wish to find out what happens after dying in the Afterlife.

Alastor disappeared and reappeared next to James, slinging an arm over the Soul Demon's shoulder. "Come on old friend, you need to live a little! What's there to be afraid of, when you're one of the most powerful Demons in Hell?" James glared at Alastor from the corner of his eye.

"Oh, I dunno, maybe the King of Hell himself? I'm pretty sure Lucifer is worth being… careful around." James wouldn't admit it, but even though he and Lucifer had a mutual respect thing going on, he still was terrified of him. "I'll just stay behind and continue giving my souls therapy."

Charlie knew of James' issue, they had talked about it about a day ago in private. She still, however, wanted her new friend to come with her to the party. "Come on James, it'll be fine! Dad wouldn't do anything to harm or kill you… unless he had a reason to of course."

"I-" James stumbled over his words, before sighing and relenting. "Fine, I'll go. But only because I know you guys won't give up, so I'm sparing myself the headache later." Charlie and Alastor seemed pleased, as they both went off, most likely to get ready for the upcoming party.

James sighed, still bored (with the extra addition of nervousness), until he sensed a strange presence near the Hotel. It felt familiar, holy even, yet had hints of darkness. Curious, he walked out, traversing a nearby alleyway until he found himself face to face with a familiar being.

"...Brother?" James managed to croak out, disbelieving in what his eyes were showing him. The golden haired, blue-eyed angel smiled at his younger brother, his wings hidden with his magic. James saw that Vincent hadn't changed much from what he looked like back on Earth, with the new additions of his eyes glowing brightly and a faint halo hovering and flickering above his head. He was wearing a white suit with a loose blue button-up shirt underneath and a gray tie. His shoes were dress shoes. James smiled, slightly comforted with the knowledge that his brother's fashion sense still hadn't changed.

"Hello Jay." Vincent's smile grew as he used his affectionate nickname for James. "How have you been?"

"I've been well…" James' smile was weak, as he had to keep himself from tearing up. It has been ages since he's heard, let alone seen his big brother. "It's nice to see you again, Vincent. What brings you to Hell? You haven't… _Fallen_, have you?"

Vincent laughed, amused by his brother's concern. "No, don't worry your little head, Jay. I haven't Fallen. I just decided to visit my brother… and give him a little something before you go out to Lucifer's party." The Angel tossed a golden watch, as James looked at it confusedly. "It should help you with your soul count for a while." Vincent then tilted his head, as if listening to something. He grimaced, before sighing. "Looks like I have to cut this visit short. I'll see you later. Angel business."

James nodded, as Vincent disappeared with the sound of flapping wings. He then looked at the watch Vincent gave him, putting it on and feeling his power being sapped by it as the watch turned red and black. If James had to estimate, he'd say 20% of his power and souls were now stored in the watch. James then sighed, feeling a headache coming on.

_Why did he feel like he was about to do something risky and outright stupid tomorrow?_


	5. Chapter 5

_**BROKEN SOUL - The Easy Way Out**_

* * *

_Once James got over the fact he was going to a party being thrown by the Devil himself, he reluctantly went along with Charlie and Alastor._

He had changed his clothes, wearing his more 'formal' suit for the party. It was colored black, with a blood red tie, and Vincent's watch on his arm hidden under a sleeve. The two Demons and the Princess were currently in a fancy limo, which James supposed to belong to Charlie's family.

He looked for some liquor, but stopped and instead pulled coffee from his pocket dimension. It was best not to get drunk at the moment; so instead he chose to drink his fill of coffee. As they drove, James noticed the buildings slowly got more pristine and well-built. They were in the "rich district" of Hell, where the most well-known, rich, and powerful demons lived. "We're getting close to our destination, right?"

"Yep, we're getting there!" Charlie replied, as she then felt the car stop. James' ears quickly detected many voices, and frowned briefly. _Paparazzi._ If there was one reason he didn't like being in this part of Hell, it was because of the paparazzi. Charlie and Alastor exited the limo, waiting for the Soul Demon. James sighed, snapping his fingers and summoning SR. His soul guardian stood near him, shifting into a more demonic form. James nodded at her and exited the limo with SR, putting on black sunglasses and grinning at the paparazzi menacingly, his sharp teeth visible.

As Charlie tried to drag Alastor and James along with her, the paparazzi began to freak out at the Soul Demon's appearance. They began whispering to each other, taking pictures, the normal paparazzi stuff. Charlie then stopped in front of the mansion-like house. There were two lizard demons acting like guards blocking the door. The guards looked at Charlie and nodded, but when they saw James and Alastor, they hissed slightly.

James blinked, unfazed by the hissing lizards. He'd seen scarier and more intimidating things in his life. He glanced at Charlie, wondering if she had an excuse to get them in or something like that. James was also trying to keep SR from attacking the guards.

Luckily, Charlie wasn't going to let the guards snarl at her friends. "These are my guests! Now move, or I tell dad!" She glared at them, causing the demons to get scared and opened the doors. The Princess smiled, grabbing James and Alastor's hands and rushing off again.

As James looked around, he noticed how many "old-timey" people were around him. There was lots of food, but James wasn't hungry. And he didn't want to interact with unknowns, so he simply stuck around with Charlie and Alastor.

Charlie looked at her friends and smiled. She was feeling happy to be able to bring along her friends to one of her dad's parties. James smiled back, albeit weakly. Alastor's constant smile widened in return to Charlie.

"Charlie, dear, this looks like a dance or gala-how fascinating!" Alastor said after looking around a little himself. James chuckled softly as he noticed Charlie try to dance on her own in her new younger body. His laughter was cut off when he sensed Vincent's energy signature in Hell again, swearing mentally.

While James was in his little freak out session, Charlie noticed a familiar face and rushed over to them. A tall male demon, with a hat and an apple cane. The Soul Demon snapped out of it quickly and realized who Charlie was now hugging. '_Ah, crap. Lucifer… Better bring out the best in me.'_ James took in a deep breath, steadying his nerves.

Lucifer walked over to Alastor and James, holding the younger Charlie's hand. The King of Hell nodded to Alastor and James, recognizing his acquaintances immediately. "Hello Alastor, James."

"Greetings, Lord Lucifer." James bowed his head, causing Lucifer to smile slightly. The Soul Demon always knew his place, even if they were "friends", he always showed respect and feared him.

Alastor silently nodded to Lucifer, as Lucifer nodded back. The King knew who changed his daughter's age immediately, as James couldn't do that to others. "Alright, why don't you three have some fun, go dance. What do humans call it..? Oh right, the monster mash! Little Charlotte will keep you two company." The King of Hell said, pushing Charlie towards his acquaintances. James felt honored, as he should. Being trusted to take care of Charlie was one thing, but by the King of Hell himself? Wow.

James then realized there was one problem. He wasn't much of a dancer... mainly because most of his time on Earth was spent figuring out how to hunt for and kill his victims. "So… dancing, huh?" The Soul Demon saw SR disappear, but didn't question it. She had a mind of her own, literally.

"Yeah! I don't know how to dance in this body..." Charlie said in a disappointed tone, as she looked to the other people who danced. They were professional and probably knew every step. Alastor chuckled and looked to James and Charlie.

"Am I the only one who knows how to dance? You two need to pay attention to others when they are dancing." Alastor replied as he gestured to the people dancing, Charlie tilted her head and looked to James. She grabbed his hands and looked up at him.

"Since we technically don't know how to dance then let's try together!" Charlie said in a determined voice as she listened to the music. She wasn't going to let this smaller body beat her.

"...uh, sure… I guess we could." James was honestly stumped, he didn't know how to react, but he couldn't find it in himself to say no to Charlie. Using some of his powers, he changed, shifting into a child-like form like Charlie. It would last for about 30-40 minutes, he supposed. He had a feeling if Vincent saw him like this, the angel would have been laughing his ass off.

Meanwhile, SR found Vincent and barked at him viciously; with the cloaked angel seeming amused.

"Sorry pup, but I'm not leaving. I've got some chaos to sow and people to troll." And so Vincent continued his walk, nearing the rich district as SR tried her best to drag them away from there.

As James and Charlie began their little dance, James was busy trying not to A) trip all the time and B) keep an eye on Vincent's energy signal. Charlie swung James around, trying to dance accurately. She knew some of the dance moves and took the lead. Alastor facepalmed and chuckled, his static radio sound behind heard.

"There you go, you're getting somewhere you two." Alastor said as he clapped, his smile wide.

James was slowly getting a hang of things as his souls started to give him tips on what he was doing right and doing wrong, jumping from a bumbling idiot to a novice. After some time, he smiled genuinely, finding it fun and freeing to dance. "This fun!" Charlie giggled, a smile on her face.

"It really is..." James never would have thought he, a murderer with a blackened soul, would ever find himself dancing; but here he was, having fun while he was at it. He also felt... something inside of him that made him more confident and bold with his movements compared to how meek he was a few minutes ago. The 100 or so positive souls inside of him snickered, knowing exactly what was going on with James.

Vincent was nearing the building the party was held in, and knowing the guards wouldn't let him in naturally, he hung around for a bit. The cloaked angel was debating if he should portal in, or use mind manipulation.

After some time, both Charlie and James stopped dancing, feeling a bit exhausted and having their fill of fun for the day. Alastor gave a little clap and gave Charlie a thumbs up, and a thumbs up to James too.

"Such creative dancing! Absolutely horrible but creative." The Radio Demon said with a laugh, looking at both of them with a smile. Charlie giggled and was glad she came to the party with her friends. James had no comment about what Alastor said, but internally frowned.

'_Sounds like a description of the old me. Horrible but creative with his killings sometimes.'_ He grimly thought. Then, all three demons heard a loud noise, as Charlie and James rushed to a window to look at the big clock. It was ringing loudly and frequently, the arms moving backwards and forwards.

The extermination had begun, and the Exterminator Angels began to fall from the sky, holding spears. "We have to hide!" Charlie said as she heard some screams in the distance, she ran off and looked around for her dad.

James' eyes widened, about to freak out and maybe rampage against the angels recklessly; but Vincent appeared next to his little brother and placed a hand on their shoulder, his eyes now sickly green and glowing. "Already time huh? Didn't expect it to come so quickly."

James quickly turned around and hissed at his cloaked brother. "Vincent? When did you get here?"

Vincent gave no actual answer, as he looked outside. "You're going to try and fight them, aren't you? Don't bother, you'll get yourself killed as is. Just go help your friends."

Vincent then disappeared from the spot again, as James growled to himself, but went after Charlie. He caught up with Alastor and Charlie, who found Lucifer quickly.

The King of Hell seemed somewhat relieved to find Charlie safe and sound, and smiled slightly at Alastor and the young-looking James. Charlie then freaked out a bit.

"Dad where are we going to hide? The angels always come into the house!" Charlie said in a panicked tone, Lucifer chuckled and picked her up. He looked to his friends and thanked them for watching over Charlie for the time being. A women taller then Lucifer walked over to Lucifer, it was Lilith, Lucifer's wife. She smiled at the sight of Charlie and took her from Lucifer, looking at how small she was.

"Awe, my little daughter looks so young! Now we have to go to the Basement." Lilith said in a kind voice, before getting serious and looking over to the panicking people. James felt his hateful souls screaming for 'revenge' against the Exterminator Angels, but quickly shut them up by overwhelming them with his own hate. James felt a weight on his shoulder and saw SR form there, in her puppy form.

Lucifer quickly walked over a stair case, walking down a few steps. Lillith sighed and held Charlie tight, pushing a button. The stairs disappeared and Lucifer expected it, sliding down with his feet balanced on his heels, Lilith did the same. Alastor almost fell over, but quickly used his own magic to keep himself balanced. James did the same, using his self-weight manipulation to effectively become weightless and float off the floor slightly. Due to SR being literally a mass of magic and shadows, he was unaffected bt the disappearing stairs.

"Anyone want to play a game of cards?" Lucifer asked as he got out cards, still sliding down the once was staircase. Alastor looked a bit interested until Lucifer dropped the cards all on the floor, they flew past Lilith and Charlie caught one. James also caught one in between his index and pinky fingers boredly.

"It's called 52 pick up." Lucifer chuckled, giving Alastor an amusing look. Alastor sighed, his smile widening as he glared silently at Lucifer. The radio demon and Lucifer had some backstory, but it was covered up. Charlie laughed at Lucifer's joke.

"That was the worst joke ever!" Charlie replied in an amused voice, Lilith put her down and used her own magic to keep her from falling.

"Oh really? Want to hear a better joke?" Lucifer bent over to Charlie and smiled widely, his eyes flashing red for a second. Charlie giggled and booped Lucifer on the nose, she wasn't fazed by the demonic look. Lucifer shook his head and chuckled, looking back forward. The stair case seemed to last forever, probably a reason why they were safe from the Exterminators.

After some time, James grew extremely bored, and SR saw that. She shifted into a extremely fluffy puppy, causing James to smile and begin to pet the fluffy doggo.

Charlie saw that James was being silent and looked over to him, seeing the puppy. She looked up and held her hands out, either to have the puppy or to be picked up. Alastor decided to talk to Lucifer, just to talk about the hotel and the family. Lillith watched Charlie, and looked to James, giving him the dead eye stare. She was strict about who Charlie knew, so she watched how James treated her.

However, James noticed the totally-not-scary (read: absolutely terrifying) stare, and tried to shrug it off. A bit of nervousness in his eyes, he simply handed over SR to Charlie, a smile on his face. The fluffy puppy gave off a small cute bark in Charlie's arms, as James tried avoiding eye contact with the Queen of Hell so he didn't start shivering in fear.

Lilith watched silently, looking at SR and turning back around to look back to Lucifer. She didn't have a problem with James entertaining Charlie, as long as she was safe and happy.

"So dad, how long is this going to last?" Charlie asked as she held SR in her arms, making sure to not drop them. She liked SR, she was nice and protective of not just James, but most of the Hotel now. That, and she looked adorable as a puppy.

"About another five minutes and we'll be in the basement darling Apple Seed." Lucifer replied with a chuckle following after. Charlie looked back to James and tried to start up a conversation.

"We are going to the basement because that's where no light shines! I don't know what it's called besides the basement, but something like.. Lambo.. Limdo.. Something like that. It's where your stuck between two stages? Something unexplainable, but it's safe there." Charlie said in an excited tone, smiling brightly.

"Er… it sounds like you mean L-" James was cut off by Lucifer's glare, a simple message clear: 'Don't mention Limbo'. James swallowed his fear, and smiled at Charlie. "I mean, sounds like you'd definitely be safe from the light-filled Angels there!"

After some time the staircase ended, with Charlie staying near her friends. They exited the staircase and found themselves in a dark forest with a gloomy atmosphere. James was able to see his breath, it was probably very cold down here, especially if he was able to feel it.

"Whoaaaa." Charlie looked in the moonlight, the color of her eyes reflecting off the moonlight. It was visible that her eyes were a dark blue, but nobody noticed as much. Alastor and Lilith followed behind, Lillith kept her distance between Alastor. She didn't trust just anyone.

James was looking around curiously, he really didn't expect Limbo to look like this. He honestly expected a endless void with mist everywhere or something. SR seemed unaffected by the cold, while James was shivering slightly, his younger form less resistant to cold. It took time, but he was able to feel cold after a bit.

Lucifer looked ahead and smiled, something was ticking him off. He gave off this dark aura, it was evil and powerful, he looked a bit tense. Charlie tilted her head and poked Lucifer on his hand, wondering why he was tensing up. Just like that in a second, he was back to normal and he looked to Charlie with a smile.

" Limbo isn't the best place to be, so stay close little one. "

Lucifer said as he looked back ahead, Lilith looked around. She was also tense about something, Alastor still smiled. James didn't know what was going on, but if _Lucifer_, the Devil himself was tense, it must've been something important.

Lucifer looked around and started walking ahead, there seemed to be a breeze going through the trees as he stepped further in the area. It was like the forest sensed the devil walked within the timeless forest of awaited judgement. He smiled, looking around cautiously. Charlie held Lucifer's hand and didn't know what her dad was looking for. Lillith walked close to Lucifer, looking determined.

"What is it we are so tense about?" Alastor dared to ask, he looked confused. He smiled and looked around, not knowing if there should be something to attack them.

"We must be _QUIET_." Lucifer growled, his teeth showing in his smile. Alastor wasn't fazed but nodded, continuing to walk in the cold atmosphere.

James meanwhile, was shifting into 'safe mode', for lack of a better word. His hands twitched at the idea of something possibly trying to attack them, unconciously slowing down his own body functions, his breathing and heartbeat slowing down by 40%. He also gently tapped his watch, silently releasing the souls that were inside the gifted object back into his own soul just in case. He didn't dare make a sound, his natural instincts kicking in as his eyes narrowed and his senses were enhanced.

Lucifer continued to walk and there was something in the distance, a gate. It was something Lucifer was after, because when they cross, they automatically teleport back to hell the day after the extermination. But beyond was something lurking, a shadow. Something in the trees make the ground rumble and pushed down trees. Lucifer stopped as he saw trees being pushed down by a huge shadow with two red eyes, it crushed anything in it's path.

"We have to get past that shadow, it won't be hard. The family does it every year, just stay close behind and you'll be safe. I mean, if you want to die then go right ahead and stand there." Lucifer whispered with a chuckle as stood there, waiting for the shadow to pass by. Charlie watched and looked at the shadow, looking up at it. The shadow gave off an aura that made its victims sluggish and tired. A darkness that fed off your nightmares and horrors.

As James stared at the shadow, his instincts jumped into overdrive, a self-preservational feeling burning in his chest. Dying wasn't an option. If he wanted to die, he would have just let an Angel stab him in the heart. But he came too far to die. He showed no fear as he stared down the shadow, making no sounds, even his breathing was silent now.

The shadow moved slowly, listening to the trees and wind. Lucifer watched it, luckily the shadow didn't notice them trying to pass through. A powerful wave of magic hit them, it was to make them feel tired. It was used on people to make them slow so when they tried to get past, the shadow would notice. Charlie almost fell over from the aura, it made her weak. Lilith quickly picked up Charlie and looked ahead. Alastor was somewhat fazed, he took a step back and summoned his cane to lean onto. Lucifer however wasn't fazed, nor Lilith. They've grown used to the aura, coming through Limbo hundreds of times made them used to it.

James wasn't too faring well against the aura, but his lupine instincts kicked in, refusing to let him fall and be vulnerable. He looked around to see how many people were witj him and to see if he could use a speed burst to help them get past the shadow. He then ditched that plan, he was still too small to carry them all, he'd need to be in a larger form, and he did not have the time, energy, nor the requirements for such a form. SR was mostly unaffected, due to being a mass of darkness herself.

The shadow passed and Lucifer looked to everyone, telling them to walk fast but not to make any noise. He walked as fast as he could, his smile wide with excitement and he held his hat. Lilith followed behind and Alastor felt weaker and weaker with each passing moment, he was slowing down but tried to follow closely by. Lucifer walked fast, he wasn't affected and had no heart for others left behind besides his family. Lucifer didn't care much for the people he left behind. Charlie held out her hand to Alastor and James who were slightly getting farther away from her.

"Try to catch up or go to double Hell!" Lucifer yelled with a chuckle, the shadow had heard them. That was the whole reason why Lucifer was leaving the rest behind, running with his wife to the gate. The shadow turned around, giving another wave aura of weakness that disabled magic. Lucifer kept running, holding his hat on his head.

Luckily, with magic being disabled, James' child-form was disabled as well. And SR was sent back into James' soul, fueling him. As James quickly shifted back into an adult, he felt the souls give him strength, physical strength. He didn't care for magic being disabled, as James grabbed a tree and ripped it from the ground, slamming the tree into the shadow and knocking it away. "Thank God- err, Lucifer- _someone_ for my ability to harm intangible things." James muttered. He then grabbed Alastor's arm and dashed off with his special speed bursts, even though he knew using such speed without his normal magic would cause him to probably go into critical condition at the worst and become unconscious for a few hours at the best.

Lucifer watched James catch up and smiled, continuing to run from the shadow. They were near the gate, but the shadow was already close behind them. It roared, releasing a loud distorted noise, coming a little faster. Lucifer's eyes widened and ran a bit faster, Lilith ran with Charlie in her hands.

_"OH FuCkiNg sNappLecRackErs-"_

Lucifer couldn't use any of his magic and slightly Panicked, he reached the gate. Lilith stopped running and looked at the gate, it was slowly opening. Lucifer tried to make the gate open faster but it wouldn't open fast, only opening slow. He looked to Lilith and put Charlie down, squeezing her through the opening of the gate. The shadow was nearing and the gate was opening as slow as ever.

_…_

_…_

_...he couldn't let his friends die. He couldn't let Alastor die. He couldn't let Charlie die._

James narrowed his eyes, his heart and eyes solidifying. He made a choice.

He walked in the general direction of the shadow, fearlessness and determination entering his eyes. "You all go on ahead, I'll give you some time. Thankfully, I can interact with shadows and souls naturally, no magic needed. So I'm your best bet to slow the thing down…" He turned around, a bit of sadness in his eyes, but he was still grimly determined. "If I don't come back, tell Charlie I gave you some time to escape."

And then, he stood his ground, fists clenched as he brought out every ounce of strength in his body. His body was forcefully shifted back into his lupine form, with his eyes now blood red, and his growing stature ripping his suit. The large silver wolf then released a terrifying howl, before glaring at Lilith, Lucifer and Alastor; as if he was saying 'don't make me regret this sacrifice'.

Lucifer had stopped smiling for once, taking the situation serious. He saw the glare and nodded, trying to make the gate open faster. Alastor felt the waves of power and leaned on the cane, watching Lucifer trying to open the gate. Charlie watched from the other side, not knowing why the gate wasn't moving faster.

Lucifer took off his hat and stuck it through the gate, Charlie grabbed it and looked at her dad. He struggled to squeeze through but made it. Alastor also squeezed through, Lilith however had some trouble. She couldn't squeeze through, her... ahem, chest was too big... Lucifer tried to keep it serious but couldn't help but laugh in the face of danger.

James looked away from his friends and back to the forest as he saw the shadow arrive. The shadow saw that James was challenging them, and roared a loud roar back. It was in the shape of a wolf, sharp teeth were shown as it roared. It gave off more waves of power, making everyone feel weak. It made the sky darker, looking eerie and the moon didn't shine through.

James howled back at the wolf, trying to assert dominance as the Alpha, the floor beneath him shaking slightly from the power of said howl. James then charged at the shadow wolf, his eyes blazing with hatred as he charged up all the power inside of his soul and slowly had it surface.

Lilith sighed and tried to slip through again, finally squishing through the gate. Lucifer snickered and got hit on the head by Lilith who glared at him. Charlie gave Lucifer back his hat and looked through the gate, waiting for James.

"James come on!" Charlie yelled, not wanting her newest best friend to get killed by the shadow demon. The wolf looking shadow demon gave a growl, inhaling for the biggest roar. The the trees started to shake and the floor started to rumble. Charlie saw this, reaching out for James through the gate. Lucifer looked to Charlie and panicked, about to pull her away.

James didn't care for the shadow's threats, as his eyes widened. "_NOW!"_ He roared as he released every ounce of power that was building up in him as a massive pillar of demonic red light that eradicated all in its limited reach. When the light cleared, all that left was smoke and ash, and the shadow demon was destroyed. But James was nowhere to be seen. Only smoke lingered in the air, silvery-red in color.

As Lucifer, Lilith and Alastor tried to keep Charlie from seeing the explosion, or the aftermath; they all had to admit things went a bit off the rails there. They didn't expect the Soul Demon to kill himself to protect them. Lucifer tried to comfort his daughter, who was sobbing over the loss of a friend.

Alastor took notice of the smoke's color and his eyes widened slightly. Silver and red were the main colors of James' wolf form… Could it be possible…?

After a few seconds, the silvery-red smoke travelled over to the gate and slowly started reforming at an agonizing pace; turning into a familiar form. It was James, somehow, but he looked extremely tired and a year younger than usual, as he could barely stand. His entire body was aching and shaking, his eyes pale in color. He weakly smiled at Charlie and Alastor. "Regenerating from smoke... is really tiring. Thankfully I could do it, I only had a 7% chance of regenerating... though I think it costed the power of every soul in me." James joked, coughing a bit.

Alastor looked over to James and wasn't surprised, going over to help him out. "Oh glad to see you back, friend!" The Radio Demon clapped his friend on the back.

Charlie smiled and hugged James, glad that he was okay. She laughed through some tears, glad to see him once again. Lucifer looked to his aacquaintance and stared, wondering how he survived that.

"Great, James is alive! Hurray, huzzah, all that jazz! Let's just go." Lucifer said, looking ahead. There was a random elevator, it opened and made its usual 'ding!' sound.

As James hugged Charlie back, he had small smile on his face. Earlier while he was stuck in his "smoke" form, he had a small chat with his own soul of all things. Together they realized what their purpose was, and what true strength came from. Family. Looking at Charlie, he realized how much he changed since he met her. He owed her so much, she was practically as much family as the people who raised him were.

"Its nice to be back, Princess Charlotte. Though I admittedly feel like I could fall asleep at any moment." James laughed weakly, his once pristine silver hair now darker, now a dark metallic gray color with faint green eyes. James released his friend from the hug and smiled at them.

"Hey, James, can you shift back into a kid again?" Charlie asked, as James blinked. He was tired, but shapeshifting took almost no energy for him. He did as requested, and immediately got slapped upside the head. "That's for worrying me, you idiot!"

"Ow… sorry?" James chuckled nervously, rubbing his slightly aching head. Charlie shook her head.

"Let's just go." She grabbed James' hand, albeit tightly, and dragged him to the elevator. Alastor chuckled and followed close behind. The elevator closed, and they went off to leave Limbo.

* * *

_Elsewhere, in Heaven, the Lord of Heaven himself was watching the pits of Hell carefully. More specifically, the newest Soul Demon._

God was patient. He was all-knowing. He had a path for James to take and knew that James was already following it. Just today he did a lot of good, freeing all of the souls that he had inside of him, and allowing them to pass on; to reincarnate as God wished.

James was soon ready for the task he had planned. He had found his Prophet. He turned to Gabriel, one of his most trusted children. "Gabriel, call Vincent. Tell him I have a task for him."

"What is it, Father?" The brown-haired handsome Archangel asked, curious.

"We have found our Prophet and Guide within Hell. Heaven's Seal must be delivered." The Almighty responded. Gabriel bowed.

"_As you command, Father. The Mark will find its newest Host."_

* * *

**_Author's Note: Hello! This is the Author himself! So, I've noticed I've gained a lot of viewings on this story! I feel honored, and even sometimes doubt if I deserve such a following! But, as the Author, I have a request for you readers! Could you please leave me a review every once in a while? Like what you'd like to see in this story, ideas, opinions, what I could change/do better on... even shippings, I suppose! I just want to know what you think! Anyways, this is the Insanity's Creator - Signing out!_**


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